The biggest Iranian charity that supports children with cancer has warned in The Lancet medical journal that shortages of drugs caused by US sanctions are likely to negatively impact the treatment of patients.

The independent MAHAK Paediatric Cancer Treatment & Research Centre based in Tehran, which is sponsored by local and expatriate Iranians alike, said the new round of unilateral sanctions was already causing a lack of several drugs needed to treat children with leukaemia.

MAHAK—the Society to Support Children Suffering from Cancer—wrote that several drugs including antineoplastics such as Melphalan, Mercaptopurine and Vinblastine can no longer be found in the Iranian pharmaceutical supply system. Meanwhile, other drugs including Nystatin and Ifosfamide were dwindling in supply, with less than three months of stock left.

To highlight the seriousness of the dearth in medicines available, the charity noted that even everyday supportive care drugs including paracetamol have become scarce in Iran.

MAHAK is the only charity organisation purely dedicated to children with cancer in Iran. It was founded 27 years ago, and last year supported approximately 7,000 cancer treatments delivered to children in paediatric haematology–oncology wards throughout the whole of the country.

Following the report, several thousand Iranians spoke out on social media about their troubles in finding medicines for loved ones.

In some instances, on Instagram and Twitter, people wrote under the main hashtag #SanctionsTargetMe to raise awareness of the subject.

The situation with medicines in Iran has become so acute that one doctor speaking to a local television station recently shouted several times during an interview that “Mr Trump is a liar, don’t believe that his sanctions are not targeting medicine imports!”